The Front Porch
Recap The episode begins with Robin asking her friends if they would watch her talk show, which airs at 4 A.M. The group reluctantly agrees to stay up and watch. Ted then turns up and informs them that Karen has broken up with him, after finding Robin's earring in Ted's bed, thinking that he and Robin had sex. As everyone prepares to watch Robin's show, Ted discovers another earring of Robin's on Marshall's dresser and mutes the television to confront Marshall, believing him to have sabotaged his relationship with Karen. As extreme events occur on Robin's show (she starts crying while showing a picture of the gang, she saves the host of the cooking segment when he catches fire, she resuscitates the weatherman after he's had a heart attack and finally she delivers a baby live on camera), still muted, Lily confesses that she has been breaking Ted up with girls who she didn't see passing the "Front Porch Test" - an indication of how they would all live together once they were old. A scene is shown of Marshall, Lily, and Ted in the far future playing bridge (though clearly, none of them know how to play). Lily says she never did this with any woman who could possibly have become the mother of Ted's children, such as Stella and Victoria, but hesitates when Ted adds Robin to this list. Lily admits she foresaw a horrible front porch with Robin, Ted unhappy about the two children he never had and Robin angry about the career she lost. Lily says she never intended to break them up, but accidentally gave them the words they used in their eventual breakup. Robin returns from the show to learn the truth behind her break-up with Ted, which Lily insists she did not want to happen. Ted is furious and storms out. The next day, Ted heads into the bar the next day to find Karen waiting, having had the situation explained to her by Lily. Karen hands Ted a letter from Lily, which contains an apology, and lets Ted know that Lily has prepared a fine dinner in The Apartment for him and Karen. Ted breaks up with Karen anyway after she says Ted cannot ever see Lily again and he imagines what the future would be like without her and Marshall. Returning to the apartment, Ted asks Robin to be his "plus one" and they enjoy the meal Lily prepared. They wonder whether or not they would still be together if not for Lily's intervention. Ted then makes a mock proposal to Robin, asking her to be his "backup wife". She accepts. Meanwhile, Marshall wears a nightshirt to the pajama party, while Barney wears a silk suit. Barney insists his clothing choice is superior, citing the possibility of attractive women coming to his home at night and seeing how good he looks, but then admits how unlikely that is and uncomfortable the "suitjamas" are. Marshall then convinces Barney to try one. Barney and Marshall delight in their nightshirts, having a dream about flying together in them. Barney starts wearing nightshirts to sleep. A week later, an attractive woman shows up at his apartment at night — but, upon seeing his nightshirt, she decides to leave, much to Barney's chagrin. Continuity *The photo of Marshall's and Lily's wedding picture is shown with Marshall (having a bad photo) as seen further in . *Marshall calls out "Bridge!" in Lily's imagination of the Front Porch. He was also seen unnecessarily calling out the names of games he won in ("Poker!"). *Marshall being something of a sore loser as previously seen in . *Lily's painting from is sitting above the fireplace in Lily and Marshall's apartment. *Ted and Robin make a deal that they would get married when they're still single by the age of 40. Barney attempts to cut the same deal with Robin in , but she reminds him of her previous deal with Ted. The pact is later dissolved in . *Robin mentions Kim Jong-il riding a horse which was also brought up in . *It is revealed that Lily's interference caused the fight between Ted and Robin, shown in , that lead to their break-up. Lily sabotaging Ted's previous relationships is also referenced again in , when Ted and Marshall suspect that Robin and Barney are miserable together, and enlist Lily's help in breaking them up. *While the gang fails to watch Robin's show here, they eventually do in , convincing her to quit smoking for a time. Gallery bpj.PNG|Barney in his suit pajamas Te.PNG|Ted finding Robin's earring on Marshall's drawers ohimym.PNG|Karen's scenario of "The Front Porch" ohiymm1.PNG|Robin's Scenario on "The Front Porch" drt.PNG|Lily's Dinner for Ted & Robin Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *The photo of the gang Robin displays on her show is the photo supposedly taken a year after . The timing is off as this is only five months after her decision to move to Japan. *In the episode, the group supposely didn't see what Robin was doing in her show on the TV because they were busy talking, but while Ted and Lily were talking to each other face to face (away from the TV) Marshall was sitting on the couch opposite the TV so he should have easily saw what was on TV, and tried to attract the attention to it since it was unsusual. *Marshall refers to Karen as "the first person to touch his (Ted's) wiener besides himself, his mom and his pediatrician". However, Ted's first sexual partner was Molly, as seen in a flashback scene in . **It is possible that though Karen was not who Ted "scored a homerun" with, he may have reached the other bases with her. Allusions and Outside References *When Marshall is stating the 5 reasons why he wears a night shirt to bed instead of pajamas, the brief dream sequence of him flying is a reference to the film . *When Lily is confronted by Ted regarding her role in breaking up his relationships, the encounter is a reference to Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the film . *When Barney sees Marshall in his night shirt he makes some references to , and A Christmas Carol. *In one flashback, apparently taking place in 2002, Lily disguises herself as to end one of Ted's many relationships. Ted is dressed as and Marshall as . All of this happened while the duo was waiting in line to see . *During the same flashback, Lily says "Live Long And Prosper" which is the famous line by from . Music *Man in Me - Other Notes * Ted Mosby is the only male character that wore pajamas in the scene where the gang watches Come On, Get Up New York! muted. Guests *Laura Prepon - Karen *Jessica Anderson - Hot Woman #3 *Italia Ricci - Hot Woman #1 *Nikki BreAnne Wells - Hot Woman #2 Reception Donna Bowman of gave the episode an A grade. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-front-porch,25190/ Michelle Zoromski of gave the episode 8.9 out of 10. http://tv.ign.com/articles/963/963485p1.html Cindy McLennan of gave the episode a A+ grade. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how_i_met_your_mother/the_front_porch_1.php References External Links * * * Category:Episodes Category:Season 4